Technology | Media | Telecommunications

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Assessing Global Consumer Attachment to Technology

Perhaps you've noticed the latest trend -- tech market researchers and pollsters are now asking consumers questions about their attachment to various devices and gadgets. Is this insight really useful or actionable? I'll let you decide...

A majority (65%) of global citizens in 25 countries would choose to give up their mobile phone over one third (35%) who would give up their computer -- if forced to choose between the two -- according to the latest market study by Ipsos for Reuters News.

Between television and social networking, most (58%) would give up social networking while four in ten (42%) would give up TV. Between mobile phones and sex, global citizens choose intimacy: eight in ten (78%) would give up their phones while two in ten (22%) would give up sex if they had to choose between it or their mobiles.

In the battle between phones and computers, women in 25 countries would rather give up their computers (39%) more than men (31%) and those under the age of 35 are considerably more likely to give up their computers (41%) than their older counterparts aged 35-49 (33%) and 50-64 (27%).

Those under the age of 35 are completely undecided if they would give up their TV or social networking – 50% say they would choose one while the other 50% would choose the other. This is vastly different from older individuals who would much rather give up social networking (68% of those 50-64; 62% of those 35-49) than television. A slight gender balance exists on this indicator as well; men are more likely to give up social networking (60%) than women (57%).

When it comes to sex and phones, the real global difference is a gendered one; three in ten women (30%) would give up sex over giving up their phones, while only 13% of men would. Those aged 35 to 49 are less likely to give up sex (19%) than their older (24% of those aged 50-64) and younger (23% of those under 35) counterparts.

Canadians seem to prioritize their computers over their phones the most, with eight in ten (80%) saying they would give up their mobile phones if they had to choose. Germany (78%), Brazil (77%), France (74%) and Japan (73%) follow next. On the flip side, those in Saudi Arabia are least likely to say they would give up their phones instead of their computers (49%); South Africa (52%), Indonesia (55%) and South Korea (55%) follow.

Respondents from Great Britain are most likely to say they would give up social networking (77%) over giving up TV, followed by France (76%), Australia (75%) and the United States (74%), while those in China (35%), Turkey (39%), Brazil (39%) and India (44%) would be least likely to do so.

Countries in the Asia-Pacific region are most likely to say they would give up sex over giving up their mobile phones: half of those in Japan (47%) would do so, followed by Hong Kong (42%), South Korea (38%), Indonesia (33%) and India (31%).

For those in Latin America, there is essentially no debate. Brazilians are least likely to say they would give up sex (8%) instead of giving up their phones, followed by Argentina (9%), Spain (10%), Italy (11%) and Canada (12%).